Sounding Off: Northwest Dallas County readers weigh in on boundaries for sex offenders

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Staff photo by G.J. MCCARTHY/DMN

The Dallas City Council has expressed interest in prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other kid-friendly areas. The idea, which is being pushed by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and is backed by the Dallas Police Department, would create a buffer zone, though specifics have not been determined. There are more than 3,300 registered sex offenders living in Dallas.

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Do you think Dallas as well as neighboring cities should create a buffer zone for sex offenders who live there? Should offenders be required to live farther away from children? How do you feel about sex-offender laws in your community?

Martha Joe Thrasher, Carrollton: The safety of our children is a very important consideration, and it is a very good idea for Dallas and surrounding cities to create the buffer zones around child-friendly areas.

Gary McCoy, Carrollton: First, I have no tolerance for anyone who would hurt a child in any way. With that said, I also believe there are persons on these sex offenders list whose names should be removed from public scrutiny.

As mentioned in the original news story, a man was placed on the list when he was 13 years old. He is now grown, married with a family, and his name is still on the public list. There needs to be some common sense with regard to these public lists. With those exceptions, I support the lists.

I also support the buffer zones. Not so much because that offender might come out of their house and attack a child. More so because parents should not even have to worry about the kids having to walk past the offender’s home on their way to school or a park. I don’t believe the buffer zones will keep anyone from re-offending. They can just get in their car.

Nell Perez, Irving: I don’t know that much about sex offenders, but my thinking is that as long as they have transportation, it doesn’t matter if they live two blocks or five miles away from children. They will find a way. It’s still up to the adults to protect them.

Jennifer Vizzo, Irving: I know it’s not realistic to require that sex offenders not live where children live in proximity. But if a convicted sexual predator moves into a neighborhood, there should be some kind of notification, either by mail or text message. I have grandchildren, and I do not want to live with a sexual predator or pedophile in my neighborhood. But if that’s not possible, then I would at least like to know where and who they are.

Steve McCluer, Far North Dallas: Buffer zones are good in principle, but there must be some level of sanity. In some cities, the buffer zones overlap, making it essentially impossible for a convicted sex offender to find a place to live ... literally living under bridges because there is no place else to go.

Also, not all sex offenders are the same. An 18-year-old who has consensual sex with a 17-year-old has technically commited statutory rape, but branding such a person as the lowest caste in society for the rest of their life is unreasonable. The penalty should be proportionate to the crime.

Millard (Bud) Baxley Sr., Irving: Yes, there should be tougher laws regulating where and how close they can reside to child-friendly areas. I also believe they should be required to put a sign out in front of their residence or on their apartment door letting everyone know who lives there. They are the worst of society and should be treated as such. Personally, I think too many people are worried they might be humiliated. So what? They should be. Make them move as far away as possible is my answer to the problem.

Paul Kramer, Carrollton: Again, it is dismaying to even have to be discussing this type of perversion promulgated by pedophiles and predators in a public forum. Sexual crimes today are largely a result of the sexual liberation movement started by Alfred Kinsey and his disciple Hugh Hefner and many others in the 1940s and ’50s. And so today, after five decades of relentless sexual promotion, we live in a sex-drenched society. While anything we do to separate offenders from their intended victims will help, if a predator really wants to be near children, he or she will be there, despite boundary rules and buffer zones. The real answer is not so much about boundaries, but the total rehabilitation of these offenders. There are many good, Christian ministries that stand ready to help. Studies have shown these significantly reduce recidivism rates and help offenders find a new, productive life. However, this resource is often overlooked, discounted or just dismissed. Whether we choose to believe it or not, though, this is not as much a civil law issue as it is a spiritual one.

Darrel Van Dyke, Coppell: The problem in dealing with sex offenders is that it throws the whole bunch into one category — sort of like how Texas used to categorize marijuana smokers as drug addicts and pushers. I am not making light of sex offenses (as all are repugnant to me), but do all of them have to wear their scarlet letter forever without any chance of rehabilitation? And now possibly be buffered from going to their kid’s schools? Council member Jerry Allen posed an excellent question: “Will this ordinance [establishing buffer zones for sex offenders] increase public protection?” The answer is probably not — but if it does pass, all we are doing is perpetuating the myth that no one can change their life for the better.

James Baker, Irving: While sex offenders pose a potential threat to children in schools and residential areas, not all sex offenders are pedophiles or sexual predators. I think restricting where they can live is against all we stand for as Americans. Most or some have completed an incarceration, and their debt paid to society with it.

The reporting requirement is such that law enforcement knows their locations. If something should happen in an area they are the first questioned.

A buffer zone on schools is not a bad idea, but enforcement is the key.

Sharon Phares, Irving: I would think that if Dallas created a buffer zone for sex offenders living there, that the surrounding communities would experience an influx of registered offenders. Understandably, the police would like to have more control over their activities. It is a conundrum as to where the safety and rights of all of us begin and end. Perhaps a better system of classification should be developed, with varying limitations for specific offenses. I have no idea if it would be a means of restricting potential illicit behaviors. We can predict, we can be proactive, but we cannot determine the acting out of behaviors with complete accuracy.

Mike Voirin, Irving: Standard buffer zones should be established statewide. It is imperative that we closely monitor criminals that commit these heinous crimes. They may have paid their debt, but they are a proven risk.

David Borland, Carrollton: We live near one (as registered on the Internet) who does not seem strange or dangerous in any way, but all my children are adults now; perhaps I would feel differently if I felt my children were in danger. I would not like it if he was forced to move just because he is within a mile of an elementary school and a high school. The reasons for his being on the list have never come up in our casual conversations, so I do not know his past history.

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